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I’d been running that scene in the kitchen over and over again inmyself the same question

“He doesn’t likeas I ry or that he left Either of those two things would hurt ive him But he really doesn’t like me”

“He’s a dick,” she snapped

“That doesn’t make him a dick,” I replied “It’s just a fact He doesn’t like me You can’t help who you like and who you don’t It just is”

“And he couldn’t have figured that out five o?” she asked “Before he practically moved into your house?”

“It hurts,” I mumbled, almost embarrassed at the admission “But it also kind of helps”

“How is that?” she asked, jerking back as the water spigot sprayed us a little while I struggled to wrap a water balloon around it

“When I think about the what ifs, I reenuinely doesn’t likeI could’ve done differently I didn’t do anything wrong”

“Of course you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said softly, bu me with her shoulder “And I like you”

“I like me, too,” I said simply

“What’s taking you so long?” my niece Rebel yelled as she ca because we’re out of ammunition!”

“God forbid,” I replied, gasping dramatically as I handed her a couple of full balloons “You can have those, but only if one of theht toward your Uncle Tommy”

“But Uncle To to hand one of the balloons back

“He is now,” I said, winking at her

I grinned as she raised her eyebrows and nodded

“He’s going to kill you,” Lily said as Rebel ran away “You won’t escape the water balloon war now”

“Worth it,” I muttered I looked over at her and lifted up the bucket of full balloons “Man the battle stations,” I said seriously

“Aw, shit,” she whined, ju to need some cover”

A few minutes later, we’d constructed a barricade out of lawn chairs just far enough fro to reload